Lexi Fesenbek (right) had a goal and five assists leading NNU to two wins and a tie last week.

Monday, September 22, 2014

PORTLAND, Ore. - Lexi Fesenbek figured in six of Northwest Nazarene's eight goals last week as the Crusaders won two games and also earned a draw. That performance has earned Fesenbek GNAC Women's Soccer Offensive Player of the Week honors.

Fesenbek is one of 12 athletes to earn Player of the Week honors for the Week of Sept. 15-21. Following is a recap of this week's winners:

Women’s Soccer

Offense – Lexi Fesenbek, Northwest Nazarene (F, 5-4, Jr., Olympia, WA - Olympia) had one goal and five assists leading the Crusaders to two wins and a tie. She had three assists Monday in a 4-2 non-conference win over Dominican. On Thursday, she set up NNU’s first goal and scored the game-winner in a 3-1 victory at Saint Martin’s. Then on Saturday, she earned an assist on NNU’s goal in a 1-1 draw.

Defense – Shayla Page, Seattle Pacific (D, 5-6, Jr., Redmond, WA - Eastlake) sparked the defense and made game-changing plays in a 4-1 win over Simon Fraser Thursday. She also won numerous balls in the air and made timely tackles and interceptions in a 1-1 draw against No. 6 Western Washington Saturday.

Offense – Erik Anderson, Northwest Nazarene (F, 5-8, Jr., Boise, ID – Wright State) scored three goals in two games including the game-winners in a 3-1 road win at Dixie State and a 2-0 home shutout against Montana State Billings.

Defense – Marcus Tinsley, Western Washington (D, 5-9, Fr., Federal Way, WA – Todd Beamer) led a Vikings defense that shut out Notre Dame de Namur 1-0 on Monday and tied No. 17 Simon Fraser 1-1 on Saturday. “He played outside back for us and did a really good job,” Western Washington head coach Greg Brisbon said. “He won the one-on-one chances which helped us out a lot, especially against Simon Fraser.”

Offense - Madi Cavell, Seattle Pacific (OH, 6-0, Sr., Keizer, OR - McNary) had 54 kills and hit for a .324 percentage at the Falcons opened their conference season with three wins, including a come-from-behind 3-2 win over Western Oregon. In that match she had 29 kills – the third highest single-match total in SPU history – and a career-high tying 19 digs. In the final two sets, she hit for a .619 percentage (14-1-21). On the week, she also had 38 digs, 10 assists and a team-high seven service aces.

Defense – Samantha Hutchinson, Western Washington (L, 5-7, Sr., University Place, WA - Curtis) averaged eight digs per set (88 in 11 sets) in raising her national-leading average to 7.11 and increasing her career total to 2,005. She had 42 digs in a 3-2 loss to Alaska Anchorage, the most by a GNAC player since she had 45 against Seattle Pacific in 2011. In three matches, she helped hold WWU’s opponents to a .115 hitting percentage. She is just the fourth player in GNAC history to record 2,000 or more digs.

Offense – Tyrell Williams, Western Oregon (WR, 6-4, 200, Sr., Salem, OR - Cascade) caught five passes for 119 yards, including touchdown receptions of 72 and five yards in the second quarter and eight yards in the fourth quarter. The latter score gave the Wolves a 33-21 lead with 8:27 remaining in the game. Williams now ranks 10th in GNAC history in career receiving yards with 2,129 yards and his average per catch of 16.8 ranks ninth.

Defense – Travis Hansen, Humboldt State (LB, 6-2, 235, Sr., San Anselmo, CA – Siskiyous) helped the Lumberjacks hold Dixie State to 147 yards in total offense (76 rushing and 71 passing) in a 50-3 victory. It was the fewest amount of yards allowed by HSU since it limited Southern Oregon to 112 in 2005 and the 10th lowest in GNAC history. Hansen had six tackles, including a five-yard quarterback sack. He also had a 67-yard interception for a touchdown late in the second quarter as the ‘Jacks built up a 36-3 halftime lead.

Special Teams – John Keating, South Dakota Mines (P, 6-1, 222, Jr., Tucson, AZ – Sabino) averaged 44.3 yards on six punts, including a long of 58. Three of his six punts were inside the 20.

Anthony Allen, Western Washington (So., Arlington, WA) carded a six-under par 54-hole score of 207 to lead the Vikings to the team title in the Saint Martin’s Invitational. Allen had rounds of 67, 69 and 71, tying Evan Holmes of the University of British Columbia for medalist honors.

Cross Country

Men - Oliver Jorgensen, Simon Fraser (So., Abbotsford, BC) finished third in the open division of the University of Washington Sundodger Invitational at Lincoln Park in an 8,000-meter time of 24:39, finishing just five seconds back of Jack Williams of UBC. Women – Katelyn Steen, Western Washington (Sr., Sammamish, WA - Lakewood) finished eighth in the UW Sundodger Invitational division in a 6,000-meter time of 21:12. She finished in back of five athletes from Division I schools and two from Canada’s Trinity Western. Her time was also better than all but one athlete competing in the open division.